>> ERIC: THIS MONTH BOTH TWIN CITIES SAW NEW CITY COUNCILS SWORN IN, AND WITH THEM NEW CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENTS.

ELLIOTT PAYNE, REPRESENTING WARD ONE IN MINNEAPOLIS, AND MITRA JALALI, REPRESENTING WARD FOUR IN ST PAUL, BOTH LEAD MORE PROGRESSIVE COUNCILS THAN THEIR PREDECESSORS.

JALALI ALSO HEADS UP THE FIRST ALL-FEMALE CITY COUNCIL IN THE STATE CAPITOL'S HISTORY.

WELCOME TO BOTH OF YOU.

PRESIDENT PAYNE, FOLLOWING UP ON OUR PREVIOUS DISCUSSION, HOW IS THE COUNCIL GOING TO LOOK AT REFORMING POLICING IN MINNEAPOLIS AT THE SAME TIME THERE'S THESE CONSENT DECREASE AND SETTLEMENTS GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS?

>> WELL, A LOT OF US CAME IN TO CITY COUNCIL IN 2021, THE MAJORITY OF US, IN FACT, AND A LOT OF US RAN ON THE EVENTS THAT HAPPENED AFTER THE MURDER OF GEORGE FLOYD.

MANY OF US ARE REALLY DRIVEN BY THAT.

AND, SO, WE SEE THIS AS A REAL OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH BOTH STATE AND FEDERAL OFFICIALS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE TEETH THAT WE NEED TO DO THE REFORMS WE NEED TO DO, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE THAT HAS SHIFTED THE ALANCE OF POWER BETWEEN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH AND THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH.

>> Eric: DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO IMPLEMENT CHANGE OR IS IT GOING TO HAVE TO BE ARM AND ARM WITH THE MAYOR?

>> IT'S ARM IN ARM WITH THE MAYOR AND ALSO WITH THE STATE LEGISLATURE.

SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO IS EVEN STRENGTHEN OUR CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT.

THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE ALREADY IMPLEMENTED TODAY WITH SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS COMING FROM THE MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS.

BUT OUR STATE LEGISLATURE IN THE LAST SESSION ACTUALLY GAVE US THE ABILITY TO STRENGTHEN THAT CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT.

SO, IT'S TAKING ALL AREAS OF GOVERNMENT -- LAYERS OF GOVERNMENT FOR US TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THE CHANGES.

>> Cathy: LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT St. PAUL HERE.

THIS HAS BEEN KIND OF TIRESOME TALKING ABOUT ALL THE HISTORY THAT'S BEEN MADE.

BUT HOW WILL St. PAUL RESIDENTS KNOW THAT THERE'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT WITH THIS NEW MAKEUP AND WITH YOU AS PRESIDENT?

>> THINK THAT IS WHAT OUR FIRST YEAR OF GOVERNING TOGETHER ASPIRES TO BE, RIGHT?

TO SHOW WE ARE DELIVERING ON INVESTMENTS IN ALL OF OUR WARDS, THAT EVEN HE RESPONSIVENESS AND THE WAY THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ISSUES FEELS MORE CENTERED ON THE COMMUNITY AND ON PEOPLE, THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE THEIR DESIRES REFLECTED IN OUR FIRST BUDGET TOGETHER, WE START THAT PROCESS WITH THE MAYOR IN THE SUMMER.

AND THEN COMMUNICATION, JUST ONGOING COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN WARDS.

ONE THING I THINK IS REALLY SPECIAL ABOUT THIS COUNCIL IS THAT THEY CAN ALL TRACE THEIR ROOTS TO, LIKE, DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES WITHIN OUR WARDS, WITH BIG STRONG NETWORKS THAT ARE NOW PART OF THAT ECOSYSTEM OF GOVERNING TOGETHER.

THAT'S OUR HOPE FOR THE FIRST YEAR.

>> Eric: I WONDER, LACK OF BUSINESS EXPERIENCE ON THE COUNCIL, I THINK ONE MEMBER -- ONLY ONE MEMBER COMES FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR, YOU'RE GOING TO BE DEALING WITH GRAND AVENUE, THE HAMM'S BREWERY, DOWNTOWN St. PAUL.

ARE YOU GOING TO BE TONE DEAF OR TONE ATTUNED TO THOSE INTERESTS, THE PRIVATE SECTOR INTERESTS?

>> I THINK THAT WE ALL HAVE A DEPTH OF EXPERIENCE IN RUNNING THESE SYSTEMS FOR EVERYBODY IN OUR COMMUNITIES, NOT JUST THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY.

YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT THE GRAND AVENUE CORRIDOR, FOR EXAMPLE, AS CHANGING AREA.

THAT IS AN AREA WHERE WE FOUGHT TO ADD LOTS OF HOUSING AND CUSTOMERS AND PEOPLE, RIGHT, THAT WILL SUPPORT THAT.

I THINK HISTORICALLY IT HAS BEEN SEEN AS MORE LIKE A PLACE WHERE SUBURBAN CUSTOMERS TRAVEL IN AND OUT OF St. PAUL AND HAT WE'VE ACTUALLY REALLY DONE IS CULTIVATE GRAND AVENUE AS A NEIGHBORHOOD IN ADDITION TO THAT.

SO YOU SEE THAT AND THEN I THINK THIS IS ALSO A COUNCIL FOCUSED ON LOCAL OWNERSHIP.

SO, PART OF THE GRAND AVENUE STORY AND, FRANKLY, PARALLEL IN MY WARD IN MIDWAY, IS SO MANY OUT-OF-STATE INVESTORS OWNING LARGE SWATHS OF LAND, LARGE SWATHS OF PROPERTY, AND I THINK THIS COUNCIL WANTS TO SHIFT THAT BALANCE OF OWNERSHIP AND, FRANKLY, MAKE SURE THAT WEALTH PRODUCED IN OUR COMMUNITY CAN STAY IN OUR COMMUNITY AND, SO, THAT IS PART OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY THAT I THINK THIS COUNCIL'S LOOKING TO BE NOT JUST MAKING SURE WE'RE PRO BUSINESS BUT PRO COMMUNITY IN THAT PROCESS.

>> Cathy: WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AREAS OF VARIOUS CITIES, DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS, A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THAT, RIGHT, BRINGING IT BACK.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS?

WHAT MIGHT THE COUNCIL ANT TO LOOK WHEN IT COMES TO REVITALIZING DOWNTOWN?

>> ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IS TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO RETURN TO A PREPANDEMIC DOWNTOWN.

WE HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT THE DOWNTOWN OF THE FUTURE IS GOING TO BE, AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE HAT WE'RE INCLUDING WORKERS IN THAT CONVERSATION.

SO ONE OF THE THINGS I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD IS THE WORK THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING AROUND THE LABOR STANDARDS BOARD, WHERE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A LOT MORE REPRESENTATION OF BOTH THE FRONT-LINE WORKERS WHO MAKE DOWNTOWN HAPPEN, AS WELL AS THINKING ABOUT WHAT IS THAT NEW FUTURE OF HYBRID WORKFORCE LOOK LIKE AS IT RELATES TO DOWNTOWN, ESPECIALLY INCREASING THE NUMBER OF RESIDENTS WHO ACTUALLY LIVE DOWNTOWN.

>> Eric: HAM AS AND ISRAEL -- HAMAS AND ISRAEL RESOLUTIONINGS SENT TO COMMITTEE, MAYBE THE WORDING WILL BE WORKED ON, THAT WAS THE FIRST, NEAR THE TOP OF THE LIST ON WHAT THE COUNCIL DID ON OPENING DAY.

I WONDER, IS THAT MISSION CREEP?

IS THAT A SENSE OF PRIORITIES, MAYBE MORE PROBLEMS REST AT HOME THAN IN THE MIDDLE EAST AS FAR AS MINNEAPOLIS COUNCIL'S CONCERNED?

>> WELL, MINNEAPOLIS COUNCIL HAS A LONG HISTORY AND TRADITION OF SPEAKING UP ON ISSUES OF JUSTICE.

AND, SO, WE DID A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE, JUST IN MY FIRST TERM.

WE HAVE A HISTORY OF SUPPORTING OR AT LEAST SPEAKING UP AGAINST WAR IN IRAQ, WAR IN IRAN.

WE HAVE A LONG TRADITION OF THIS, MINNEAPOLIS IS A VERY POLITICALLY ACTIVE CITY.

AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, WHEN WE SPEAK ON THESE ISSUES WE'RE REFLECTING THE VOICE OF OUR CONSTITUENTS AND WE'VE BEEN HEARING VERY LOUD AND CLEAR FROM OUR CONSTITUENTS THAT THEY DON'T WANT US TO BE SILENT.

>> Eric: YOU TOOK A DIFFERENT PATH WITH THE ISSUE, DIDN'T YOU, IN St. PAUL?

>> Cathy: AT LEAST YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT POTENTIALLY DIFFERENT PATH.

>> WE JUST GOT STARTED, RIGHT?

WE HAD OUR FIRST COUNCIL MEETING THIS WEEK.

EVERYBODY IS GETTING THEIR BEARINGS.

BUT, YOU KNOW, THE TWIN CITIES, I'D LIKE TO SAY WE'RE SIBLINGS, BUT WE'RE NOT IDENTICAL TWINS, RIGHT?

IN OUR COUNCIL, WE HAVE A DIFFERENT HISTORY AROUND INTERNATIONAL MATTERS, WHERE THE COUNCIL WORKS TO LIFT UP WHAT OUR CONSTITUENTS ARE TELLING US, FEDERAL DELEGATION, THROUGH THINGS LIKE SIGN-ON LETTERS, PUBLIC STATEMENTS, SUPPORTING WHERE THE COMMUNITY IS HAVING PRESS AND ADVOCACY OPPORTUNITIES.

AND I THINK THAT WHAT'S IMPORTANT IS RESPECTING LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND HOW EACH BODY IS DIFFERENT AND REPRESENTS DIFFERENT BUT SIMILAR CONSTITUENCIES AND THAT'S HOW THEY WANT THAT REFLECTED.

I AM PUBLIC ABOUT MY POSITION.

I TALKED ABOUT IT IN MY INAUGURATION SPEECH.

I, FRANKLY, HAD SO MANY PEOPLE PEOPLE -- WHAT REALLY JARRED ME TO BE CANDID IS PEOPLE CAME UP TO ME IN TEARS, AND THEY SAID, THANK YOU FOR SAYING SOMETHING AND FOR NOT BEING SILENT.

SO I HAVE RESPECT FOR HOW THE MINNEAPOLIS COUNCIL WANTS TO HANDLE IT BECAUSE THAT LEVEL OF EMOTION IS WHAT'S AT PLAY AND WE'RE EACH WORKING TO BE RESPONSIVE TO THAT IN OUR OWN WAY IN OUR COMMUNITIES.

>> Cathy: BY THE WAY, HOW DO YOU PLAN TO WORK TOGETHER AS COUNCIL PRESIDENTS?

>> YOU KNOW, I'LL START, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO WORK EVEN MORE CLOSELY WITH MY COUNCIL COUNTERPARENTS.

THE TWIN CITIES ARE A CLOSE-KNIT COMMUNITY, OUR HOUSING MARKET, OUR JOB SECTOR, LIKE ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE CONNECTED.

IN THE WAY THAT OUR CONSTITUENTS EXPERIENCE THE COMMUNITIES IS ALMOST PART OF THE SAME REGION.

WHAT I ASPIRE TO IS A COLLABORATION THAT IS CLOSER, IS MORE IN COMMUNICATION, HOLDING FLEXIBILITY FOR HOW EACH JURISDICTION IS DIFFERENT.

WE'RE NOT THE SAME.

BUT WE ARE SO SIMILAR.

NEU >> Eric: WHAT'S YOUR THOUGHTS?

>> OH, LIKEWISE, WE'RE A REGION.

AND WE'RE KIND OF THE ECONOMIC CENTER OF THE STATE.

AND PEOPLE LIVE AND WORK IN BOTH CITIES.

AND THE FACT THAT WE HAVE THIS REAL OPPORTUNITY OF A CLOSER GOVERNING COLLABORATION, THERE'S A LOT OF LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE RIVER AND I'M REALLY OOKING FORWARD TO APPLYING THOSE LESSONS.

>> Eric: HOPE YOU'LL COME BACK AND SEE US DURIN